Diagnostic remission of substance use disorders: Racial differences and correlates of remission in a nationally...

Research has shown racial/ethnic minorities to have similar risk of developing substance use disorders (SUDs) as Whites. However, few studies have compared the likelihood of diagnostic remission (i.e., no longer meeting criteria for current SUDs).

Using nationally representative survey data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (NESARC-III), we examined all adults with lifetime SUDs; compared the proportions experiencing diagnostic remission; and used logistic regression analyses to compare Black, Hispanic, and other racial/ethnic minorities to Whites. The research team initially used bivariate comparisons to identify potentially confounding factors also associated with remission. The study used multivariable-adjusted logistic regression analyses to adjust for these potentially confounding covariates. The team conducted separate analyses for alcohol use disorder (AUD) and drug use disorders (DUDs).

Of 10,916 individuals with lifetime SUDs, 5120 no longer met criteria for an SUD in the past year (55.2% of White, 34.0% of Black, 38.5% Hispanic, and 40.1% of other individuals). In unadjusted analyses, Black, Hispanic, and others were significantly and about half as likely as Whites to have remitted with odds ratios (ORs) of 0.42 (95% CI 0.36-0.48), 0.51 (0.45-0.58), and 0.55 (0.45-0.65), respectively. The study found similar results for both AUD and DUDs. Adjusting for potentially confounding factors only modestly improved the likelihood of remission among racial/ethnic minorities compared to White individuals.

Minority race/ethnicity is robustly associated with reduced likelihood of diagnostic remission from SUDs even after adjusting for other factors. This study could identify only partial moderators of these disparities; these moderators deserve further study.